I have
been a teacher almost all of my life, teaching in schools
in the US, in Germany (DODDS), in International Schools (as
a sub) and then in the District of Columbia, and then
finally in Arlington, Virginia Schools. Department
of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) are provided by the
United States Armed Forces for the children of military
personnel stationed overseas.

I have
worked in black schools, magnet schools, science schools,
and in teaching GT (Gifted and Talented). I decided
that all kids were gifted and talented in some way, so I
decided to teach all kids and look for the best in all
kids. The last school I worked in, I was the
technology teacher. Now I teach preservice
teachers, and technology professionals. I work to
develop ideas with wonderful people. I like to
develop games and projects. I love science,
astrophysics and astronomy, geology, geography,
technology and I read all of the time. I like
helping kids find out about what they are interested in
and guiding them to learn. I have visited many,
many countries in my work in technology and media, or in
helping to conquer the digital divide and I have brought
what I learn back to my students.

What
is the digital divide?

Digital
Divide is big enough to write a book on and we are doing
that. The best definition I know is at www.benton.org, look under
digital divide. I think that means that some of us
have and others have not the use of technology, but there
are lots of other factors as well, that is why I send you
to the DD homepage on that site.

Did
you always want to teach?

I
taught as a child. There were many children in my
neighborhood who were not able to read and write.
Since I went to Catholic schools, and could read at
three, I helped a lot of the kids learn to read. My
mother and father were both teachers and they had moved
to Alexandria, Virginia to help in the minority schools.
So I had early practice. My mother was American
Indian, my father was Black. My father taught shop,
bricklaying, electricity, woodshop, and some kinds of
carpentry. My mother gave up teaching to stay at
home with us. She became a florist with her flower
shop in our home. She used to teach first grade.

So I
can be a florist because I am trained. I was a
model for a little while in Paris, but it was boring to
me. I wanted to see things, not be seen. I
wanted to see Europe. I wanted to be a pilot.
I wanted to fly. I learned how in a NASA teacher
workshop. But mostly I take planes to special
places. I love looking out of the window and seeing
things on the ground.

What countries have
you lived in or traveled to?

I have
usually been working. I don't get to take many
vacations. My Greek friends are teaching me to have
more vacations.

I have
been to Greece often, especially Athens, and Cyprus (which
is also Greece). I have also lived in Spain (doing
archaeology with Earthwatch), France, Germany (I lived in
Idar Oberstein and taught school in DODDS (Department of
Defense) schools. I have traveled and worked in
Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Malta, Tunisia, Egypt,
Namibia, Zambia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Mexico.
I have been to many places in Mexico because I study the
Maya and followed the trails of the conquistadors and the
Maya settlements. I have studied geography in
Haiti, Belize, Santa Domingo, Canada (lots of places in
Canada with the National Geographic) Atlantic and Pacific
and even in remote parts of Canada, Bermuda, Saint Croix,
St. Maarten-Martin, Saint Thomas, the Virgin Islands,
Japan, China, Singapore, Greenland and Iceland. I
think those are the main ones since touching down in a
plane does not count. I think you know a country
when you know the airport, the geography, the food and
some of the culture.

I
spent a lot of time as a teacher in India on a Fulbright
exchange, and had a short trip to Nepal.

My
most interesting travel was in Greece because it is very
different from place to place and I have not conquered
the language and did not have mentors or study guides.
I did not know what to expect, so it was more challenging.
I knew least about it, but the land is very beautiful.
I like the coves for swimming where the water is
turquoise blue, and you can float easily. I like
the bright sun, yellow, pink and blue sunrises and the
brilliant sunsets. I like the stories of the
ancients.

India
is like a thousand different countries linked by people
speaking a lot of languages. I loved traveling to
28 cities in India. I never decided which city was
best, but I really liked Darjeeling, Mumbai, and Lake
Dal, in Kashmir and of course the Taj Mahal, and
Bangalore (the gardens). I did not like monkeys who
were trained to beg money because they would hold on to
your dress until you gave them the right amount of money.
I liked the peacocks, and the golden temples. I
liked having bed tea. That is when early in the
morning someone delivers hot tea to your bedroom. I
liked eating a lot of different mangoes and listening to
Indian poetry.

How
do you become a Fulbright Scholar and what does it mean?

You
apply and pray that you get selected! It is a very
special honor in which you get to go study the culture,
and work in another country as a way of creating bridges
of friendship and knowledge between scholars and members
of the learning groups in each country. You get to
be an ambassador for your country. Senator J.W.
Fulbright wanted people to have the experience of
actually being in the culture, rather than reading about
it remotely.

What do you like best
about living in other countries?

I like
learning about the people. I like learning as I did at
National Geographic, the land, the resources of the land,
the culture, music, art, food. FOOD... I like
learning to cook foods in the place where they come from,
so I must mention France. There I loved the big
tubs with the feet, and the big cups of cafe au lait.
France was the first country I visited, and they like
Jazz, and colors and fashion, so I like seeing fashion,
foods, and fun in a different way.

In
Germany, where I lived the longest, my neighbors were
very friendly, and were always helping me to do things.
Some things I did not want to do, like open the windows
in the freezing winter to let the bad air out (that air
was warm)! We walked a lot and the Germans taught
me to eat in season, and to walk, walk, walk.
Europeans walk a lot. They also made sure I was
healthy and eating well. We spent lots of time
together. I was not too happy about a mattress that was
in three pieces with buttons on it, but I got used to it.
I liked learning about nature, and about opera and so on.
My original landlord boiled her clothes over a fire with
a stick having a dream and fell back into the root cellar.
I thought I was having a dream. I had never seen
that either, but she was very nice. I let her use
my washing machines and we shopped together. She helped
me to buy food, but she wanted me to buy fresh every day.

I love
the trains in Europe. My best trip was to Davos,
Switzerland. I like Switzerland, but some famous
person was coming and they had these big cowbells to
greet them, chocolate and some drink. I think the
cowbells certainly woke me up from being tired after a
long flight. We went by lakes, and then changed
trains and went up in to Heidi country. Finally
when we arrived at Davos, we took a sled to the hotel,
but there were taxis. I liked the apple strudel in
a vanilla lake (this is on a plate -- I just like to call
it that), and the mounds and mounds of snow and the good
coffee concoctions. Swiss chocolate melts fast, in
your mouth, in your hands, and it is not a good idea to
put it in your pockets or you will have a gloppy mess,
but it will still taste good. I have never seen so
many kinds of cheese. Between Switzerland and
France there are too many kinds of cheese to remember.
I saw a lot of cows too.

I like
the culture of other countries. We (the United
States) are a young country with interesting stories, but
not as many as lots of other countries.

I
never knew that much about the Romans or Greeks.
What I knew was boring facts, out of the books. I
never knew how much the Romans and Greeks were a part of
Europe. There are monuments everywhere! I
therefore loved the ruins like Trier, and learned to love
archaeology. I like going on digs. When
learning about Europe from books, I did not get it that
the Romans had been there. I don't know why!

In
Italy, I felt, as I do in Greece, as if I was walking in
history. What I liked about Italy and Greece is the
history, the statuary, the stories, the art...
unbelievable! I walked in Rome so much, but my feet
never hurt.. I walked, walked, walked! In Rome
there are markets, one near the apartment where I stayed,
the Square Farnese, and there were all kinds of oranges,
and fruits and fish (very fresh), and toys and flowers.
Did I mention gelato? Did I talk about the
beautiful architecture, and the meals? Gelato,
espresso, .... and walking the areas to see the beautiful
fountains. Rome and Paris were bigger than my
imagination.

I read
a lot of books, and did lots of tours, I never knew that
learning, when actually being in a place, was so much fun.
Because I work in media, we meet lots of children from
all around the world with their projects. We
evaluate films that people make for children. We
evaluate films that children make and award prizes
sometimes.

I have
wanted to go to Egypt and the Middle East all of my life.
Everyone who has read about Howard Carter and his
discoveries certainly knows that feeling. I went in
search of Cleopatra, the pyramids, Alexandria and Luxor.
I am amazed by the difference in what Cairo is, and how
it has been described to me. The part of the
pyramids I liked was the pictures inside. They are
so beautiful. I rode on a camel and liked it a lot.
I liked it that people thought I was Egyptian. The
museum in Cairo is so full of wonderful things. I
would like to go there again. I would like to
photograph in the small cities. I would like to
teach technology in some of the technology centers.

I
collect childrens games and toys and would
bring those things back to my classroom to teach children
about the different countries. The custodian
probably did not like it. I had lots of things.
I like teaching children about other countries especially
since there are so many children in America from other
countries. I am working with a professor at MIT who
is sharing his country with me in a technology way.
Starfestival is a CD-ROM in which we learn about Japan,
as we learn what it was like when he left it as a child.

I take
pictures when I travel. Sometimes I collect sand
from the beaches, because it is very different in many
places. You should see it under the microscope.
I have green sand from Hawaii, black sand from beaches in
India, pink sand from Bermuda, and yellow sand from an
island in Greece.

Indigenous
peoples of the world are my favorite study. I am
sure you can guess why. I like their jewelry, their
stories of the night sky, and how they explain astronomy,
make maps and their art. Once I got to cook in New
Zealand with the Maori. My favorite indigenous
people are my own: www.niti.org. I
believe that the Indigenous people of the world have many
gifts to share with the other people. So far I have
studied the people of Tonga, the Masai, the Cook
Islanders, and Native Americans or the first people.
I have spent a little time in Hawaii, but mostly as a
tourist. The museum in New Zealand, Te Papa, is
outstanding. I have been there three times and I
have only been to New Zealand twice. I spent two
days, the last time, learning in that museum.

What is StarFestival?

StarFestival
is the next generation in interactive learning. You
can join the Professor as he returns to Japan after a 30
year absence to rediscover his hometown, his past, and
his unique identity.

What have been your
most memorable experiences?

Being
able to train myself to do the technology thing on my own
no matter how people tried to make me stop.

Blackwater
rafting: I never want to hear about it again.
I was terrified and screamed a lot. My friends were
NOT happy with me. But I do not like that darkness
underground. I don't even like caving that much.

Walking
in the inside of Mayan architecture, thinking I would
slip and fall and getting tired while gazing at the
places inside the temples. It is a little bit
slippery and close inside the Mayan pyramids.
Sitting on the edge of it was hot and muggy.
Sitting on the side of a cenote. Swimming in Tulum.
That has got to be one of the most beautiful beaches in
the world. Trying to walk down the steps of the
temples in Mexico. They have a chain you can hold
on to, but I considered that being chicken. Very
scary! (Especially if your feet are not child sized.
You would laugh at how long it took me to get down
without holding onto the chain! I drank a huge coke
once I got down. It was HOT and HUMID there.

Working
in Archaeology in Deia, Mallorca, Spain was wonderful fun..
and figuring out that the Mediterranean was the
crossroads of history. I found a bone awl, and
beads from Carthage, but I might have been in a barbecue
pit. I liked the way they treated children in
Spain, homemade soaps, and afternoon teas. Having a
pig eat my straw hat when I dropped it while gathering
water for tea on the dig.

I had
a child in my class, Michael Delp, who wrote me letters
from Tunisia. I loved visiting there, and going all
the places he told me about. I only went because he
wrote to me about the country. I was not
disappointed. Roaming Carthage. Looking at
the ruins and mosaics. Shopping in the souks.
He told me he ate briks. That is a sandwich.
And it is good. I ate a lot of them. Don't
worry. They are delicious.

I love
the beauty of New Zealand. New Zealand is so
beautiful. I liked One Tree Hill the view at night,
and windy Wellington, and Christchurch, and Dunedin.
Once I could not find the way to cut the lights on in my
hotel room and so I was so tired I just went to sleep.
I was too tired to figure it out. I think
Queensland is beautiful, and I loved touring the sounds.

When you travel, do
you take family members?

I took
my mom to Hawaii with me, and we all went to Mexico and
to Paradise Islands. My father loved the islands a
lot. I have a kind of Greek family. I have
never stayed in a hotel in Greece. People who are
your friends in Europe want to enjoy your company and
want you near. I have technology friends in the
Middle East and Europe so we are always traveling
together. My friend Heba helped me to learn not to
take too much luggage when I travel. I have a lot
of technology friends and we meet all over the world for
projects like Prix Jeunesse. I always was
collecting things for my classes, even in Santa Fe, or
San Francisco. I am usually meeting someone for
work, as in Munich to review films. It is
interesting work.

You have a lot of
titles. What do these mean and how do you get
picked?

I am a
fellow for the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
I go places and make speeches for them to people who are
interested in our work. We want to bring technology
to classrooms and to teaching and learning. So we
talk to them about it and show them how to use computers.
George Lucas is very kind to teachers. He cares a
lot about children.

One
title is a Challenger Fellow, NASA funded us after the
tragedy of Christa McAuliffe, who died in a shuttle
accident. We wanted to touch the future, and teach
children about space so we created projects for them.
We have Challenger Centers for learning. I have
traveled with them and learned in many places in the US
with them. We also teach teachers to understand
NASA projects. We have lots of special projects.
I like making Marsville, and Mars City Alpha. I
think I got picked for that because of my projects.

I am
from the Young Astronaut Chapter Leaders, that is a lot
of fun. It is sharing, also with children, about
space and science and ecology. I got picked for
that because of my work in space science. Well, my
children in the classroom did outstanding work!

I am a
poster person for Earthwatch, because I believe in the
global classroom. Earthwatch helps teachers to
learn about the world, and has the global classroom for
children to talk to people working in Earthwatch projects
around the world.

The
other Christa McAuliffe honor was from the National
Education Association. We had members who gave
money to the union to help us to remember Christa
McAuliffe and so we taught teachers to use computers and
technology in interesting ways. We used to have a
seminar at Stanford, in California. The idea was to
help with technology. I got picked for that because
I am a technology pioneer.

I
worked with President Clinton and Vice President Gore in
helping to frame the ways that Americans thought and
planned the use of super information highway. My
children learned so much from me, because of learning
from NASA, and National Geographic, and NOAA, and the
Baltimore Aquarium, so I was picked to help other
teachers think about transforming ways, new ways to teach
and learn.

NASA
helped me work on a project about Amelia Earhart. I
always wanted to fly the planes and not be a passenger.
I got a chance to do that. It was fun. I
helped to write a project that took another woman, a
flyer all around the world, well, as far as Amelia
Earhart went. Then I also learned about Dorothy
Coleman who was a Black flyer. The French and
Germans helped her learn to fly, and she had a license.
I never knew about her. I also did not know that
the Wright Brothers went to school with my favorite poet,
Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

How do you think
computer games can be used for education? Do you
think they are a good thing? Why or why not?

When
people work in the army and armed forces they play a lot
of "war games." This is a practice to try
out the equipment, to practice strategies, and to learn
the use of equipment. That is one kind of game.
There are also simulations. I like them and the way
that you can explore, as in explorations at the National
Geographic site. I hope you
have tried that. It is awesome.

Games
are a way of practicing and in games it is ok not to be
the best. You can practice it until you get it
right and there is no penalty. In games it is also
ok to be the best! Sometimes in school, if you are
very smart people resent it and make fun of you or call
you a nerd. In a game, they want to get your score
and join you! Games are an environment and you
don't have to get bored, you can be excited about it.
People learn in different ways. I am putting
together some ideas with people at MIT, as a teacher
member of folks thinking about games. The Olympics
were games, and there have been throughout history many
ways of teaching thinking. I think visualization,
modeling, and practice help people to learn in wonderful
ways.

NASA
uses some of these techniques in many different ways.

What are your goals
for the future? Is there anything you haven't done,
or anywhere you haven't gone, that is on your list of
things to do?

I want
to continue to help teachers learn to use technology.
I am working on a book to help people think about the
people who do not have much, and how we can help them to
learn. I want to spend more time learning about the
culture of Native Americans because I did not grow up on
a reservation. I want to connect children to
learning places like the museums that I love, and field
trips that teach.

I have
not been to most of South America, though I have explored
it in movies, on the Internet, in books, poetry and food.
I am most interested in Brazil, and Argentina. I
read a lot of books by writers from those countries.
I THINK I would like to visit many parts of Brazil.

I
would like to taste some of the Eskimo foods.
Muktuk? I do not know if I would like it. I
would like to visit Russia and go to a film festival in
Bratislava.

I want
to go to Stratford on Avon and see a Shakespearean play
in England.

I like
it when I meet people and they do not know what I am, or
what country I am from. Sometimes they say bad
things about America, but they usually just have a
misconception about the country. I wish I could
speak many languages.

I
would like to go up to the Lick Observatory again in San
Jose, and also to visit the volcanoes like the ones in
Hawaii. I want to learn about the Hawaiian gods so
that I know the stories. The stars seem to have
more color in the Hawaiian sky. I would like to see
them from one of the observatories in Hawaii.

What advice do you
have for students?

When a
child tells me they are bored, I ask: whose fault is
that? There is so much to do, to learn, to
investigate. There is a world of interesting things
to do. There are new inventions to be made and
ideas to be expressed. Children should be creators
and inventors too. With the new technologies they
can do that.

Do you have children
or pets?

I have
a cat. My cat lives in my family's home with the
rest because I travel too much for her. She sits on
my lap and will not move when I come home. She did
not like going to kennels and being taken care of and I
would not dare to leave her alone. She likes to
play outside every day even when you can hardly see her
in the snow. She has always been at that place
because I lived there to help my mother for a while.
She climbs trees a lot.

I have
many children whom I have taught. We email. I
do not have children of my own.

What is your cats
name?

My cats
name is KATT. I was visiting a friend and a bad
snowstorm came up. I got in the car and so did the
cat. I put it out on one side, and got in to drive
home and it jumped on my lap and sat there. It was
snowing so hard I felt sorry for it, but I put it out
because I figured it belonged to someone. Finally
my friend said it was a street cat. It is a Maine
Coon cat. KATT loves to race you to the door, train
you to get her food when SHE wants it, and she likes laps
and high trees.

What does your family
think of your job?

Not so
much until I bring back cool stuff. My brother is a
doctor so we sometimes compare notes and cook food
together. They are not so crazy about technology as
I am but my mother saw me on television at the White
House. She liked that. I think I make them
want to travel more. They call my house the
museum, because I have cool stuff from around the
world that they never saw before.